Trump Calls Congressional Inquiry a ‘Witch Hunt’

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President Trump said in a Twitter post that Michael Flynn, his former National Security adviser, should seek immunity to testify to House and Senate committees investigating Russian interference in the election.CreditCreditEric Thayer for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Friday that Michael T. Flynn, the national security adviser who resigned last month over his contacts with Russian officials, should ask for immunity from prosecution in the congressional investigation into the presidential campaign’s ties to Moscow. Mr. Trump called the inquiry a politically driven “witch hunt” by the news media and Democrats.

The president made the remark on Twitter the morning after it was revealed that Mr. Flynn was seeking an immunity deal as part of an offer to testify in the investigations by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees into Russian meddling. Those inquiries are looking into the presidential election and potential collusion between Mr. Trump’s campaign staff members and the Russians.

“Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion!” Mr. Trump wrote.

Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion!

The president has been eager to dismiss as “fake news” all allegations that members of his campaign colluded with the Russians, and the post appeared to be an effort to discredit the congressional inquiries that are examining those claims. It also appeared to be aimed at defusing any speculation that Mr. Flynn might be seeking immunity because he has incriminating information to share about Mr. Trump or his associates.

Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said Mr. Flynn’s decision to seek immunity from prosecution was a “grave and momentous step,” but not one that investigators were ready to consider at this stage of the inquiry.

“While Mr. Flynn’s testimony is of great interest to our committee, we are also deeply mindful of the interests of the Justice Department in the matter,” Mr. Schiff said in a statement. He added that before considering immunity for any witness in the inquiry, “we will of course require a detailed proffer of any intended testimony.”

Mr. Schiff also answered Mr. Trump’s Twitter post with his own messages, saying that his committee would soon uncover the reasons Mr. Flynn wanted immunity.

“The question for you, Mr. President, is why you waited so long to act after you learned Flynn (through your VP) had misled the country?” Mr. Schiff wrote.

Mr. Flynn resigned three weeks later, ostensibly because he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his talks with Mr. Kislyak, and Mr. Pence had gone on to repeat the mischaracterization publicly in a television interview.

The testy social media exchange on Friday was the latest turn in the increasingly bizarre saga surrounding the Trump White House and the investigation into connections with Russia. The credibility of the inquiry was thrown into question on Thursday after it emerged that a pair of White House officials had helped provide Representative Devin Nunes of California, a Republican and chairman of the Intelligence Committee, with intelligence reports showing that Mr. Trump and his associates had been incidentally swept up in foreign surveillance by American spy agencies.

Armed with the information, Mr. Nunes held a news conference and made a public show of going to the White House to hand-deliver information to Mr. Trump, an apparent effort to help the White House explain why the president had taken to Twitter early this month to accuse President Barack Obama of wiretapping his telephone. The chiefs of the F.B.I. and the National Security Agency have both testified that such surveillance never took place.

Mr. Nunes postponed a hearing that was to take place this week at which Ms. Yates was to testify.

It was not clear from Mr. Trump’s post on Friday whether he fully appreciated the potential impact on his administration if Mr. Flynn received immunity to participate fully in the investigation. But he has said previously that seeking protection from prosecution is a telltale sign of wrongdoing.

“If you’re not guilty of a crime, what do you need immunity for, right?” he said at a campaign rally in Orlando, Fla., in September. Mr. Trump was referring to Hillary Clinton aides who received immunity during an F.B.I. inquiry into her use of a private email server.

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, declined to address the inconsistency, telling reporters on Friday only that Mr. Trump “believes that Mike Flynn should go testify.”

“He thinks that he should go up there and do what he has to do to get the story out,” Mr. Spicer said.

The president’s mention of a witch hunt echoed the language used by Mr. Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, in a statement on Thursday evening about possible testimony by his client. “No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch-hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution,” Mr. Kelner wrote.

“General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should circumstances permit,” he added.

A congressional official said investigators were unwilling to broker a deal with Mr. Flynn until they were further along in their inquiries and they better understood what information Mr. Flynn might offer as part of a deal.

The F.B.I. is investigating whether any of Mr. Trump’s advisers colluded with the Russian government in its efforts to disrupt the 2016 presidential election. An immunity deal would make it extraordinarily difficult for the Justice Department to prosecute Mr. Flynn.